Dr. McKechnie is the Interim Pastor at Sardis Presbyterian Church. Dave reveals, "I wake up enthusiastic about each new day-anticipating new things happening in my life, in the lives of my family, and in the lives of other members of the Body of Christ." Join us at Sardis Presbyterian Church for worship at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. each Sunday.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Guest Post: Hold onto your fork!

What’s more southern than fellowship
and feasting?

We both grew up in Presbyterian churches in Virginia and
remember so fondly the famous, covered dish suppers or potluck dinners. Tammy’s
mom often made “her” macaroni salad, which was a favorite among the congregation.
Some folks made their old stand-bys, while others chose to try out their new
recipes. We both loved them because it was a time that our moms didn’t mind if we
had a piece of chicken and 5 desserts!

How did the church come up with the notion of a potluck
dinner? Wikipedia defines a potluck as a “gathering of people where each person
or group of people may contribute a dish of food prepared by the person or the
group of people, to be shared among the group.” Maybe churches adopted this
concept from Jesus who fed a crowd of 4000 (Matthew chapter 15) with 7 loaves
of bread and 4 fish and even had 7 basketfuls of leftovers! Congregations have
taken the notion of breaking bread together and run with it. Not only do we
break bread, we munch on fried chicken, scoop casseroles, slice pies and sip
iced tea. We chew the fat while chewing our food and extend our hands in
fellowship. It seems as though the covered dish supper is a cherished church
ritual that is still alive today.

When we were children, our mothers would never have dreamed
of purchasing a side dish for our covered dish supper, but today it seems as
though many families are busy with their work schedules, running children to
their commitments, just life in general. What a wonderful concept, prepare or purchase
one simple dish, but yet your family gets to enjoy the fruits and labor of
many! We need not lose sight of the fellowship of bonding together over a meal
that we have all contributed to, whether it’s a store bought dish or homemade.

After serving at the soup kitchen recently, we were told
a story of an elderly woman who was hospitalized and dying. She was visited by
her minister. She asked the minister to promise her one thing when she died. He
responded, “Absolutely, what is it?” She said, “Promise to bury me with a
fork.” He looked puzzled and replied, “Sure I will, but may I ask why you want
to be buried with a fork?”

She explained, “When I was growing up, I was always told ‘Hold
onto your fork, because the best is yet to come.’ ”

We hope to see you soon at the next pot luck dinner, but
remember, hold on to your fork!

Tammy Cotton and Kristen Taylor are co-chairs of the Fellowship Committee. You can find them hanging out at the Jewish Community Center pool or planning fellowship events together over a glass of wine!